Farmworkers: The Coffee Industry’s Ethical Blight and a PR Disaster in Waiting

“The price one coffee we drank there was one day of labor at the origin,” Camilo (translated from Portuguese) later told guests at an SCAA panel discussion on how farmworkers are traditionally excluded from the coffee industry’s supply chain sustainability efforts. In a somber voice, Camilo noted how coffee appeared to be “green gold” during his visit, a complete contradiction to his daily experiences in coffee farming since the age of 13. “Most times we are not aware of values and negotiations…We are not aware of the value the product has.”